Marvel Rivals Season 9.5 update cuts game size by 40GB

In the sprawling world of live-service gaming, file size often becomes a frustrating bugbear. As games continually expand with updates and new features, players are left dealing with ever-growing installations that can clog up hard drives. But for fans of action-packed universes like Marvel Rivals, this issue is getting a serious tackle.

NetEase is currently working on an ambitious project to bring some much-needed efficiency to the game, addressing the hefty file size of Marvel Rivals. The goal is to drastically reduce the amount of space the game consumes, particularly for PC players.

This optimization effort is slated to roll out as part of the upcoming Season 9.5 patch, scheduled for August 7th. This mid-season sweep isn’t just about adding new content; it’s about a significant overhaul of the game’s visuals and assets, which will come bundled with a substantial reduction in install size.

For PC users, this means a potential knockdown of up to 40GB from their installation. The process involves advanced texture compression, a key technical move that allows developers to repackage game assets and shrink the footprint without sacrificing quality.

The creative director of Marvel Rivals, Guangguang, explained the reasoning behind this change in a recent development diary. He noted that as the Marvel Rivals universe expands with every season, so too does the overall file size. “While this is the nature of a growing Chronoverse,” he commented, “our tech wizards have been hard at work forging solutions to manage this growth.”

Guangguang cautions that while the initial Season 9.5 update might be slightly larger than usual due to the repackaging process, the final installed size will be significantly lighter. This technical finesse is particularly vital amid recent roster additions, such as the technologically gifted criminal The Hood, ensuring that content expansion doesn’t come at the cost of efficiency.

However, not all platforms are getting the same treat. While PC players are set to see the most significant reduction, console owners face a different reality. Players on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S will receive less relief, with file size reductions limited to approximately 15GB. This disparity highlights the unique challenges of optimizing large-scale games across different hardware ecosystems.